1. Field of the Invention
The present invention deals with the field of devices for allowing vehicles to drive across hoses, especially large fire hoses, without damaging thereof. At emergency fire sites multiple hoses extend in various directions over the roadways and driveways of adjacent areas. A hose bridging apparatus provides a means for allowing these vehicles to drive over these hoses without the vehicle itself receiving a major jolt or without the hoses themselves being damaged. Such large fire hoses are extremely costly and can easily be damaged by being repetitively crossed by one or more heavy emergency vehicles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many prior art designs have been utilized for bridging hose shaped configurations for driveways, pavements and even train railways such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,137,313 issued Apr. 27, 1915 to C. C. Hamilton on a "Combined Fire Hose Bridge And Car Wheel Replacer"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,398,497 issued Nov. 29, 1921 to C. P. Tyler on a "Car Rail Hose Bridge"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,653,127 issued Dec. 20, 1927 to M. Shoman on a "Fire Hose Protector"; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,956,125 patented Apr. 24, 1934 to V. K. Leister on a "Bridge For Protecting Fire Hose"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,166,031 issued Jul. 11, 1939 to E. J. Wendell and assigned to The Hale Fire Pump Co., Inc. on a "Hose Bridge Device"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,166,516 issued Jul. 18, 1939 to G. A. Bainbridge on a "Ramp For The Protection Of Hose Pipes"; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,299,356 issued Oct. 20, 1942 to W. T. Strohm et al and assigned to Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation on a "Utility Crossover"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,370 issued Dec. 12, 1967 to G. J. Walkey and assigned to Lockheed Aircraft Corporation on a "Plastic Safety Ramp"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,888,186 issued Jun. 10, 1975 to D. Jentzsch et al and assigned to Rubber Engineering, Inc. on a "High Strength Portable Cable Crossover For High Tonnage Earth Moving Vehicles"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,258 issued Jan. 10, 1978 to W. J. Valeri and assigned to Irathane Systems Incorporated on a "Crossover Unit Utilizing Slotted Pad And Wedge-Shaped Closure Strip"; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,100 issued Jul. 18, 1978 to D. Smith et al and assigned to Value Engineering Company on an "Aircraft Flight Line Servicing System".